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How to book a guided or self guided active European or UK walking or cycling holiday with Sherpa Expeditions.

When we are out walking or cycling we of course should drink regularly to stave off dehydrationand exhaustion. We naturally drink more at higher temperatures and humidity, but even in cold weather we should maintain a good fluid balance. However we have never been so spoilt for choice for the ways and means of doing so. Long gone are the days of clipping an army surplus water bottle to your belt, unless of course you want to!

Why Purchase a Specialist Water Bottle?

Well of course you don't have to, quite a few people carry plastic mineral water or soft drinks bottles that they reuse until they crack as they are usually pretty thin. Let’s face it most tap water in the UK, and mainland Europe at least is perfectly drinkable and the idea is not to revert to buying bottled mineral water, which causes a huge worldwide environmental problem with discarded bottles in land fill and floating around in our oceans. However, you should ensure that the plastic bottles you use are free from BPA (a chemical used to make certain types of plastic that research shows can affect your health if it seeps into your water).

A good solid bottle however should last a long time. The best ones for a good many years were the Swiss-made aluminium Sigg bottles, still available but not so cheap. They tended to last for 20 years until finally so dented, you split the bottle trying to push the dents out! If you liked this style, you could try the beautiful stainless steel bottles from Klean Kanteen with a 'sports Mouth piece', which is easy to use on the go and there is a loop to secure it to your backpack. Also, check out the Brita Blue Sports Water Bottle, which has a filter to reduce impurities such as chlorine. The filter will need soaking every four weeks to keep it clean. It also has a hoop so you can attach it to your rucksack.

Cleaning

It is easy to forget about your bottles after a trip, but all bottles, flasks, bags and feeder tubes need to be thoroughly cleaned in hot soapy water and rinsed before use. Especially with water bags, they can be cleaned with lemon juice, vinegar or use sterilizer solutions such as Milton or those available for home brewing. Concentrate especially on pipes and bite valves where bacteria can build up. Most of the water bag manufacturers sell ingenious brushes which can be pulled through tubing to clean it.

How Much Should I Carry?

The amount of liquid capacity you carry should be determined by the type of activity undertaken, the environmental temperatures and the propensity on a trip to refill or purchase additional drinks. Bearing in mind that a litre of liquid weighs 1 kg (in addition to the weight of the vessel it is in), bringing 3 litres with you is usually more than enough to carry in most conditions. Obviously, you are going to drink it throughout the exercise, but too much to carry makes you work so much harder. Most people will be fine carrying two 1 litre bottles or two 500ml bottles, especially if you are cycling.

Bottles to Squash

Some people don't like the fact that they are carrying large volume bottles that take up quite a bit of room in their bags, and may not always be that light. Luckily the new ultra-running craze has provided us with some very lightweight and durable silicone based bottles, which squash flat once they are used. They also fit really well into external rucksack pockets. Check out the range of Salomon Soft Flasks, or those by Ultimate Direction.

Waterbags

Still very popular with walkers, runners and cyclists there are many makes of water bags to be carried in the rucksack such as Camel Back and Salomon. They come in different sizes with all manner of closure systems. The advantage being that you can drink on the hoof or at the wheel without having to lay a finger anywhere else, or take your bag off. This means that you are more likely to drink more regularly. There is a downside however, some types of closure may leak or fail under pressure in your bag resulting in your gear getting soaked. Even triple laminate plastics can fail after they have been creased a few times, although more often now the water pouch is being made of highly durable silicone. Feed leads can also come adrift and bite ends pull off quite easily or can dangle in the dirt when you take your bag off. Everyone has their preferences, but I was put off by this kind of system when I saw a 3-litre pouch just drain through a bag on a trip.... not good if you are carrying camera gear and a laptop, not so bad if you are just out running!

Flasks

Walking in Britain or elsewhere you may have a kettle in your room, or even if you don’t, if you take a lightweight heating element kettle, you can produce hot drinks including soups and carry them in stainless steel flasks, some with wide mouths, which keep them hot for hours. Most supermarkets produce very cheap vacuum flasks, which unlike their predecessors are almost unbreakable. However, do check the cap-closure pourer, the simpler the better. Anything you have to push in is likely to fail. There is a brand called Chillys that make some very pretty steel flasks, which may keep drinks hot or very cold for 12 hours. Try not to use straight boiling water in flasks and bottles. A head of steam can spray from the cap when you open it and burn you. The best thing is to put some hot water in the vessel to preheat it, pour it away and then pour in the hot drink.

On the cold front, the simplest way to keep a drink cold is to put a damp sock over the bottle and the evaporation cools the bottle. However, there are modern double walled plastic drinks bottles which do the job very well such as the Camel Back Eddy Insulated Bottle. Cyclists will also find a range of insulated bike fitting water bottles, see models manufactured by Elite or Salomon.

The Future?

You've seen how race cyclists tend to throw their bottles on to the road or in the verge during a race? A way forward with all plastic water bottles may be what we are seeing in the Elite Supercorsa Biodegradable cycling bottle. Finally, Elite have produced the Supercorsa Bottle, made of vegetable oil based plastic, rather than from petroleum based plastic and it will - eventually – decompose if abandoned by the too eager cyclist. It may well be a way forward for other bottle manufacturers too.

Every month our resident guide, John Millen, brings you an anecdote, update, or tip on the gear you are likely to use on a walking or cycling holiday. Always from his personal point of view. This month he brings you the latest outdoor gear news and talks about hiking gear essentials, drones, packing, and trendy camping gear.
A new year dawns, and with it no doubt some of you are thinking about some bright and shiny new gear that you can spoil yourself with. So, let’s look at some of the newer trends rather than the obvious fleeces and waterproofs of yore.
Boots & Soles
What more innovation could a humble walking boot have after all of the material and waterproofing revolutions of the last few years? Well, Vibram, the famous sole manufacturer, has come up with the Arctic Grip Sole. The rubber of the sole is embedded with gritty-type materials that increase friction on slick surfaces. It is not designed to replace the crampon, but may give better security at times when you may have to cross an occasional short snow ...

In the remote places you visit on a walking holiday, there may be little shops available. In order to be prepared for unexpected situations, guide John this month brings you 10 outdoor essentials to pack on your cycling or walking holiday.
No one ever wants anything to go wrong on a walking holiday, but in remote areas there is always the possibility of losing a trail and getting disorientated. Perhaps because it is getting dark or misty, maybe the weather is on the turn, or you had to slow down for other reasons. Especially in Western Europe this is likely to be a temporary affair. But fear and worry are enemies as much as the environment and a clear head is what is needed to adapt to the situation. This is always helped by carrying some outdoor gear essentials, so let me give you 10 tips for items to bring on an active holiday to the outdoors.
1. Firstly, always have a compass, and if you have a local map from the tour it is highly unlikely that you have ...

Every month our resident guide, John Millen, brings you an anecdote, update, or tip on the gear you are likely to use on a walking or cycling holiday. Always from his personal point of view. This month he takes a look at an essential yet often overlooked area - your toiletries and wash kit, and how to save weight and space in your luggage.
In the world of travel and back-packing, where it’s important to keep weight down, one of the least obvious places to start is your wash kit. It’s amazing how much a bag of soaps, gels, pastes and brushes add up. So many people bring full size containers of everything from toothpaste to shampoo, big cans of deodorant and heavy towels. Of course a distinction could be made between tours, where basic soaps and shampoos may be provided by hotels and B&Bs, and camping trips where more items may be required, but sometimes even in a hotel you may not find basic items such as soap or a plug.
Perhaps don't pack anything toiletry wise, until you get ...

Every month our resident guide, John Millen, brings you an anecdote, update, or tip on the gear you are likely to use on a walking or cycling holiday. Always from his personal point of view. This month he looks at rental bicycles: what to pay attention to when you first receive them, what to bring along on a cycling holiday and what to wear.
Unless you are signed up on a dedicated road biking or mountain biking holiday, nearly all cycling tour operators like Sherpa offer hybrid bikes as their usual bicycle rental provision. These humble steeds have coalesced from the mountain bike evolution as the industry standard. They may share multiple gears, disc or cantilever breaks, and maybe some degree of suspension similar to mountain bikes. They also may have panniers or connections at least for racks and comfy touring seats. The wheels and tyres are narrower which make them more efficient on the road like the older-fashioned touring bikes. Hybrid bicycles get used on gravel tracks and dirt roads as well.
Ready? Get Set. Go!
Normally when you hire your ...

John Millen, our resident guide and walking expert, lists his essential items to take on a hiking trip. Especially with mountain trips in mind, but also useful to those that plan to walk outside the mountains, these items to pack on your walking holiday can certainly help you enjoy your holiday in the outdoors even more.
Bookmark this list of 10 things to pack on your walking holiday with Sherpa Expeditions and keep it handy for your next holiday in Europe.
Clothing
Wear several layers of thin clothing, such as a thin merino top under a shirt and then a thin or thick fleece that can be taken off to adapt to changes in temperature. Also, have a waterproof coat ready and waiting. Quite a nice item to have if you are prone to feeling the cold, is a down 'gillet' which is like a puff jacket without the arms. These can be packed away easily and can be brought out if you get cold.
Boots
Take comfortable broken in, but not broken-down hiking boots with some cushioning either in the insole, outsole or both! Trail or ...

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